


What If Things Were Different?

by NitroThunder224



Series: Return by Death: MHA Edition [2]
Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out of Character, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NitroThunder224/pseuds/NitroThunder224
Summary: This whole work is basically a side-project. It's completely non-canon (so far). Some serious ideas, some goofy ones, even some user-requested content. This is (usually) not a serious story, so please expect mild to severe OOC.This is heavy with spoilers! Proceed with caution! Better yet, read Part 1 to prepare yourself.
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku/Uraraka Ochako
Series: Return by Death: MHA Edition [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974562
Comments: 25
Kudos: 70





	1. What If Midoriya Could Tell The Truth? (Part 1)

_**Many things can change drastically if even one tiny little detail changes. How about we take a glimpse at such an idea? In another space, at a different time, on another Earth, not too different from the one we all know, a boy is going to tell the truth of what's wrong to his crush.** _

_**Except this time, no harm will come.** _

* * *

“Midoriya, are you okay? Principal Nezu and All Might said you weren’t doing well. Did they do something to you?” Uraraka asked worriedly, wanting to know what was wrong with her friend. She was wearing casual clothing, which consisted of black leggings and a pink t-shirt. She was sitting on his desk chair, which was moved so she could be closer to her distraught friend.

“They did…nothing to me,” Midoriya slowly said, his eyes far away, filled with pain. Uraraka’s hair flowed from the wind emanating from the open window. His crush tenderly grasped the distraught boy’s hand.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong? We’re friends, so I worry about you,” Ochaco reminded, pleading with her friend to let her in.

_“I can’t keep going on like this…I’m at the end of my rope. Wait, that’s it!” _ Deku widened his eyes in realization, _“If I just told her, I wouldn’t have to do this by myself. I wouldn’t have to be alone through all of this…” _

“Uraraka, I need to tell you something,” the greenette stated, determination filling him.

“Yes?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been Returning by Death for the past three weeks," he admitted, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his body. "I've been tortured, poisoned, suffocated, assaulted. And every single time I've died, I have to relive this very day, not to mention the entirety of the week."

Uraraka sat with her mouth wide open, not knowing whether or not she heard him wrong. "...what?"

"Please," Midoriya turned his head down, scrunching up his eyes, "you _have_ to believe me. I'm not crazy. I swear...I can prove it, too!"

"Really? Because I'm very worried for you right now, Izu," Ochaco revealed, having a grimace on her face. "Tell me something only...only you would know if you got to know me better over three weeks."

"You're favorite snack is mochi, specifically the strawberry kind. You plan on calling yourself Uravity when you become a professional hero, and you're planning and/or already watching an anime called Dr. STONE," Midoriya listed off, hoping to convince her. 

Uraraka's eyes bugged out, amazed how each item he listed off was absolutely true. "You're not lying?!"

The shadow manipulator shook his head sadly, "I wish I was. You really want to know the truth? About what Principal Nezu did to me?"

Ochaco nodded her head hesitantly. Taking a deep breath, the greenette said, almost as a whisper, "He...he tortured me. Along with this crazy stalker chick." The brunette's face lost all color, her face expressing horror.

"What?!" Uraraka immediately swooped up the tortured boy into her arms, the boy melting in her embrace, "...why would he do that?"

After sniffling a couple of times, the abused teen said, "Because apparently, I smell like another man called All For One."

"Don't worry, Izu. I'm going to make sure you don't ever have to suffer again," she promised, holding the boy tighter as she said that. Uravity pulled him away from her, staring him in his emerald eyes. "Should we tell anyone else about this?" 

Midoriya looked back, unsure of whether or not he _should_ , when he realized he wanted to tell three more people. "I do. Can you get Mr. Aizawa, please? I want to tell him, and also fulfill my promise with him."

"I will, but what promise?" Uraraka asked, curious what promise he could have made on the first day of school.

"I made a promise with him that I'd come clean and tell the truth after I handled the stalker girl. Before I died," he added, clarifying.

"Oooh. I understand."

**5:00 PM  
** "Problem Child, why did you send your girlfriend to wake me up? And why are Bakugo and Shinso here, too?" Aizawa yawned out, unamused. The two teenagers mentioned and the teacher sat upright on the greenette's bed, all unhappy to be there. 

The two gravity manipulators turned bright red, both stuttering out, "W-w-we're not dating!" They were both standing up, holding each other's hands for support. The tired adult, upon noticing this, rolled his eyes.

"Why am I even here? I don't even, ( _yawns),_ know you that well, Midoriya," Hitoshi asked, scratching his hair. The time traveler looked sad upon hearing that, still not able to accept that they weren't friends.

"I've brought you all here today to tell you something important," Izuku began.

"This is such a goddamn bore, Deku! Hurry the fuck up!" Bakugo shouted, impatient as always. Eraserhead would've reprimanded him if he didn't agree with him.

"I can Return by Death. Every time I die, I come back to life, with no one remembering it. It's kind of like time travel," the greenette tried to explain.

Silence stretched on for what seemed like forever. No one thought he was serious.

"Is this some type of shitty joke, Deku?! I got a lot more important things to do than hear you yap!" the explosive blonde yelled, annoyed.

"Shinso," Midoriya looked at the tired teen, with the purple-haired boy looking right back, "your quirk is called Brainwashing. It allows you to force anyone to do anything you want as long as it's simple. It's requirement to work is that your target has to respond to whatever you say before your quirk can activate. It also doesn't work on me, for some reason."

Shinso's face had an incredulous look to it, "Bullshit! How do you know?!" 

"I just told you, I can-" Midoriya stopping mid-sentence, his eyes once again glazing over. Once again, the mystery woman knocked out the intruder from his mind. He took a deep inhale of breath, "You tried!"

"W-what?! How?!" The brainwasher asked, amazed that someone escaped his control.

"You told me in my first week of school, after you cheated in Immortal Combat," the time traveler explained.

"But, Kirishima and Kaminari cancelled that..." Shinso didn't bother finishing the sentence, the puzzle pieces fitting together.

"Now do you guys believe me?" Izuku asked everyone, all of them nodding hesitantly. "So...can you guys help me? The principal has and is trying to kill me." 


	2. What If Midoriya Could Tell The Truth? (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya expresses more of his fears and talks (briefly) about his first death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over a hundred people have read this? Well, I guess you folks won't mind another chapter, right?  
> Mind you, this chapter is shorter than part 1, as I literally wrote just to get rid of my writer's itch. Plus, it's a side-project.

**5:10 PM  
** Aizawa, Shinso, Bakugo, Uraraka, and Midoriya were all sitting in the greenette's room, the first three trying to comprehend what the hell was going on. The teacher ran a hand through his hair before giving out a loud sigh. "That's...holy shit, that's a lot of problems," Aizawa forced out, feeling insane that he even believed the boy. 

"I...I haven't told anyone this since today. For ten months, I've kept this secret close to my heart. I need help, please," Midoriya pleaded, bowing down.

"Oi, Deku, do you have a goddamn spine or not?!" Bakugo asked, trying his best to inspire his friend. Izuku gave a confused expression with a slightly forced smile.

"Um, of course I do, Kacchan. How would I be standing-" he began before being interrupted by a lilac teen.

"It's a metaphor, jeez!" Shinso clarified, trying to get a lock of hair out of his face. With a slight 'O' face, the greenette nodded his head to the blonde.

"Before we go after the principal, Midoriya, tell us how this 'Return by Death' thing works and when you discovered it," Shota asks, his usually tired eyes wide awake now. With a reassuring squeeze from Ochaco, he began to relay his information.

"My true quirk, Return by Death, forces me to go backwards through time whenever I die, whether I want to or not. I don't physically go back, but I'm mentally back in my old body before I go back to a predetermined location, which I also have no control of. I have three theories that ultimately lead to the same fate that explains how I remember the previous timelines, with the last being the saddest out of all of them: The first theory is that my consciousness is sent backwards through time into my old body, removing my old consciousness and putting in the new one. Only problem is that my past self would never exist, causing a paradox. 

"The second theory is that my memories go through time, and I'm ultimately both the past, present, and future version of me at the same time. Again, like theory one, paradox. The most likely, and the most depressing one, is the third idea: Ever heard of the Multiverse Theory?" Midoriya asked the group, his hands folded together as if he was going to break down and cry.

"Sorry, kid, but I spend most of my time sleeping, what is it?" Aizawa asked, both he and Shinso yawning at the same time. 

Taking in a deep breath, Izuku continued, "Well, the Multiverse Theory is basically the concept that there are an infinite amount of universes, each one either similar or different to this earth. It might be that the Titanic never sank, time is faster/slower, or Japan lost against the first invasion of the Mongols." 

"What's the goddamn point, already?!" Kacchan yelled out, needing to know how this situation could get any worse.

"It means that there's a likelihood that I'm not _your_ Midoriya Izuku," the time traveler answered, failing to notice that he was crying. Everyone looked at the teen with even more worry on their face.

"The fuck does that mean? What do you mean by ' _your_ '?" Bakugo asked, scared at where this was going.

"If the third theory is correct, each and every time I die, my consciousness or my memories get sent to another universe in which the thing that killed me hasn't happened yet. Which would mean I killed this version of me," Izuku somberly whispered, "It means...there are...six timelines, **six entire worlds** out there that I ruined. That I fucked up in," Midoriya began to cry even harder, snot forming. But he couldn't stop, no matter how badly he wanted to, "That means that I left my mom and all of my friends after...I killed myself. After I got suffocated, beaten, poisoned, assassinated, and tortured! I left them all **behind**!"

Everyone in the room, even Kacchan, rushed forward to embrace the crying child, not wanting anything to happen to him ever again. They all whispered variations of 'it's okay' and 'nothing is going to happen to you'. After an intense hugging session, they all disentangled from each other. Uraraka and Kacchan had the second reddest eyes, followed by Shinso then Aizawa (who denied that he was tearing up).

"Deku-Izuku, when did it first happen?" the blonde asked, feeling like murdering his new principal. 

"Remember...remember that day when the Slime Villain attacked us?" Midoriya forlornly asked, getting a wince as an acknowledgement from his friend. "That day, I discovered my quirk. I relived that day for four days, the first three I died."

"W-what was your first death?" Hitoshi asked, getting a glare from the teacher.

"It's okay, sir, it's...better if you all know," Izuku said, doing his best to defend the lilac teen, "I...committed suicide."

Everyone gave a shocked gasp and Bakugo grabbed his friend's shoulders, shaking him back and forth as he shouted, "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT, YOU IDIOT?!" Silence entered the room, stifling all of them. After what felt like an eternity, the time traveler answered Kacchan's question.

"Because you told me to." 


	3. What If Midoriya Could Tell The Truth? (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya goes more in-depth about his first death, Kacchan hates himself, and the first two steps of The Plan is formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guess who's back? You know, if I make one more chapter of this in the same concept I might just change the title and premise to fit it better.

**5:20 PM  
**The silence was deafening with Midoriya's confession. Bakugo looked heartbroken, yet was still in denial. "C-come on, Izuku. This is serious. I...I wouldn't-"

"Kacchan, it's okay. I don't blame you," the time traveler reassured, wiping away his tears and snot. He reached for his childhood friend, before the explosive blond quickly dodged. "Kacchan...?"

"What did I do? Tell me, now," Bakugo demanded in a low voice. Upon closer inspection, he was barely holding it together, trying his best to not break anything in his pure despair.

"I second that notion," Aizawa sensei joined in, crossing his arms. He was curious (not to mention furious) about what happened surrounding his student's first death. Midoriya sat down on the ground, looking up towards the three males in front of him as he gripped Ochaco's hand. He took a deep breath, before retelling that fateful day.

"Ten months ago it happened. The day started off normally enough: I woke up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, my mom saw my bruises-"

"Wait, 'bruises'?" Shinso and Uraraka asked, interrupting him not even a 1/5 into his story.

"I-I, um...fell down!" Izuku lied, using the same deception he used on his mom. "A-anyways, after school was over, Kacchan started screaming in my face as usual, trying to dissuade me from going to U.A," he revealed, causing everyone in the room to give an 'are you fucking serious' look towards the bully.

"I...yeah, I was an ass," Bakugo admitted, looking down at the ground. As the story went on, the pit in his stomach grew larger and larger, and his hatred for himself got worse and worse.

"Once he destroyed my notebook, you told to me to, _'take a swan dive off the roof,'_ and after I got a beatdown from an overweight villain, I went to get some food. Afterwards...I found you, Kacchan, suffocating because of a slime villain's quirk," Midoriya softly spoke, remembering that horrible day in vivid detail. "I tried, I swear, I tried to save you...but I failed." The room's temperature felt like it dropped a couple of degrees, everyone realizing where this was going. "The next day, I apologized to you for me fucking up so badly, and I...took your advice."

Bakugo sat on his friend's bed with utter disgust for himself, begging whatever God could help him to hurt him as much as his friend has suffered, because Lord knows he deserves it. "...why? Why are you still friendly to me? Even after I treated you like garbage all these years, why did you-"

Midoriya, not expecting that question, choked on his own spit, sending him into a coughing fit. "God no, Kacchan! I can't hate you. You want to know why?" Bakugo nodded forlornly in response. "Because deep down, I think you actually hated hurting me, didn't you?" Izuku accused, hoping his guess was right.

"What?! What makes you say that, Deku?!" the blonde hotly asked, his façade falling back into place like a glove.

"After I died, I saw you immediately. When I...broke down in tears in front of you, you took time out of your day just to make sure I was okay, for a solid hour, even," Midoriya told everyone, smiling just a little bit. "And don't forget when I got my gravity quirk," he reminded, remembering how nice the blonde was that day.

With tears dripping down his face, Bakugo gave his dear friend a bear hug, holding on tight as if he'd disappear if he let go. The others in the room stayed silent, all of them feeling like they were watching a private moment. "You fuckin' nerd..." he teased, the usual anger replaced by relief.

"Okay, that's good and all, but what exactly did the principal do to you?" Shinso asked, cleaning out wax from his ear. Noticing what he was doing, Kacchan quickly disentangled himself from his time traveling friend, feeling embarrassed that he even did that.

"He, um...tortured me, but not directly! He made someone else do it," Midoriya clarified, as if that made things even better. "He thought I was a spy, so he ordered this girl to kill me, who I also think loves me?"

Aizawa slapped his hands into his face, disheartened by the fact that he was, in fact, not sleeping. He sighed heavily, "That sounds out of character for him. Did he say anything else? Did he try to guess where you came from?" Shota questioned, trying to get to the bottom of why the principal would do something so unlike him.

"He said something about a man named All For One," the greenette supplied, watching the color leak out of his teacher's face.

"Yeah, that would do it. Do you know anything about the female who killed you?" 

"I think her name is...Toritsuka Kyoko. Yeah, I'm sure. Tall, black hair, crimson red eyes," he supplied, doing his best to not remember how...alluring she was last time before she killed him in cold blood. Shota nodded and pulled out his smartphone, holding up his right index finger to his lips to signal them to be silent as he called someone.

"Yo, Tsukauchi, I need a favor, a big one...yeah, of course it's serious," he paused, sighing before continuing, "No, I didn't lose my cat again...okay, I'll send the information soon," he finished, hanging up the call. As he texted Midoriya's information to the detective, he told everyone, "Tell anyone the last part and I'll...actually, maybe that joke isn't in good taste at the moment," Aizawa pondered aloud, "Anyways, I have a friend in the police force who can help us out. Anything else we should know about?" 

"Funny you should mention that," Midoriya nervously laughed, scratching the back of his head. He then proceeded to explain Quick Copy from Death and his copied quirks from said quirk.

"Hold the fuck up, Deku," Bakugo spoke up, putting together a gruesome puzzle piece inside his head, "If you need to be killed to get new quirks then..." he stopped mid-sentence, not wanting to it to be true. Midoriya nodded his head slowly, not trusting himself to speak in fear of crying again. "That's fuckin'...fucked."

"Yeah, it is," Shinso yawned, stretching his arms as he continued to speak, "Just to make sure, we were probably friends in another timeline, right?"

Midoriya nodded, missing their previous relationship. Uraraka saw his melancholy look, so she hugged her friend in need once more, sifting through his hair with her fingers. "I think it's safe to say we're all going to help you, Izu," she gently whispered, feeling him relax in her hug. He pulled away, grateful that he was getting the help he needed, but it didn't change his fate. Not yet, at least.

"What are we going to do?" the time traveler asked everyone, a look of hope on his face. Aizawa, Bakugo, and Uraraka eyed each other, silently asking the other if one of them had any ideas.

Shinso knew what the greenette was feeling, he knew it too well, in fact. It reminded him of all those times when he wanted to talk to someone; be it his classmates, teachers, his parents, hell, the bullies who hurt him. Every time he was denied, he knew it was because of his stupid quirk. Hitoshi thought to himself that if they _were_ friends, that if Midoriya was truly his first ever friend in some other reality or whatever, what he'd do if said friend was in danger and asking for _his_ help. How the hell could he even help him? _"I'm not strong, I'm not the smartest, and I'm not even scary! The only reason why anyone is even afraid of me is because of my..."_ Shinso got a lazy grin on his face as he chuckled lightly. Everyone looked to him, confusion evident in his eyes. 

"The fuck's wrong with you?! You think this funny, you asshole?!" Kacchan yelled, furious that the tired bastard would even find Deku's situation 'funny'.

"Of course it's not funny. I just got an idea, a simple, but an effective one. Midoriya, didn't you say your killer liked you or something?" the tired teen asked. The other teen in question nodded his head, not knowing where this was going. "Hypothetically, could you find her right now?"

"Shinso, I-I don't think that's a good idea! Izu just died from her! W-w-what if it happens again?!" Uraraka asked nervously, not liking his 'hypothetical' idea. The lilac-haired teen shook his head, his smile growing larger.

"That won't happen, because I'll be the one to **'talk'** to her."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, are you guys enjoying this? I really want the criticism.  
>   
> Dedicated in memory of cowabunga, who forgot to do his chores.


	4. What If Everyone Thought Midoriya Was An Imposter? (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's in a dark room, tied down to the chair. His quirks aren't working, and everyone he knows is staring down at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I basically took VinHD15's comment from the main fic and turned it into a side chapter. Below is the original comment, unaltered.  
> Principal nezu talking to aizawa: Midoriya's the imposter i was in cameras and saw him vent *shows video evidence*  
> aizawa: EMERGENCY MEETING

**_This idea takes place when Midoriya is reliving his third second day at U.A._ **

* * *

**Unknown location, unknown time  
** The first sensation Midoriya Izuku felt upon waking up was a very harsh migraine. The second sensation was the feeling of his entire body, specifically his hands and feet, being restrained. Thirdly, he felt a needle sticking into one of his veins. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring down at his lap, still in his All Might pajamas. "Where..."

 _WHACK!_ came the sound of the slap to his face. Awakening immediately, Midoriya found himself surrounded by his peers and teachers. "Ow! W-what's going on?!" Bakugo, who was wearing workout clothing, shook his head angerly.

"I don't know! Why don't you tell us, _'Midoriya'_?!" Kacchan spat out, oddly enunciating his name. As Izuku gave a questioning look, he realized he was in the common room, with the windows showing it was still dark out.

"Yeah, _'Midoriya'_ , if that's even your name!" Uraraka, who was wearing a pink onesie, shouted at him, pointing an accusing finger in his face.

"I don't know-" _SLAP!_ came another slap, which wacked him on his right cheek. "Please stop! You're hurting me!"

His teacher, Aizawa sensei, crouched down to get eye-level with the confused greenette. "Where's my student?! Where's Midoriya Izuku?!" he yelled, having an unprecedented amount of emotion in his voice.

The time traveler was so confused. This never **ever** happened before. Unsure of what to do or say, Deku decided to speak the truth, "W-w-what are you talking about?! I-I am Midoriya!" This time, he was punched instead for his 'persistence'.

"It's only Tuesday, Young _'Midoriya'_ , plenty of time to make you talk," came the threatening voice of his principal. The chimera simply strolled up to the restrained teen, having to look up to the 'liar'. "I'll ask this time, where's Midoriya Izuku?"

"I don't understand! I am Midoriya!" the gravity manipulator exclaimed, struggling against his binds. Nezu shook his head, tsking as he walked away.

"Sero, you know what to do." Obeying immediately, the boy listened and used his quirk to send Midoriya to the ceiling upside down. The blood rushed to his head, making everything hurt that much more.

"I got this," came the angry voice of the Number One Pro Hero, All Might. "WHERE IS MIDORIYA IZUKU?!" he yelled, giving a punch to the teen's gut. Midoriya spat out blood from the impact, pain radiating from his chest.

"I...am...Midoriya," came the hurt/tired reply. 

All Might cocked his head to the side slightly, amused. "I must say, your ability to withstand torture is both admirable and foolish, imposter."

"...WHAT?! YOU THINK I'M AN IMPOSTER?!" Midoriya shouted incredulously, the feelings of betrayal and hurt mixing together. "I. AM. MIDORIYA!" he cried, tears flowing down his forehead because of his position.

"Hey, Nezu," Aizawa whispered, _almost_ feeling bad for the imposter, "he's not cracking."

The chimera rolled his eyes, biting back the sarcastic response, saying instead, "Shinso, do what you do best." Following his order, Shinso Hitoshi pushed his way to his 'friend', getting a good look at his upside down body.

"Hey, Midoriya, this isn't real," he gently said, giving a reassuring smile.

Crying even harder, the greenette whispered out, "Oh thank God! I was so-" he stopped, his eyes glazed over. That was until the unknown feminine figure snapped Midoriya out of it. "Y-you tried using your quirk on me?! I-I thought we were friends!"

"This is highly unacceptable behavior, evil-doer!" came the booming voice of Iida Tenya, who was walking robotically towards the time traveler. " _We_ are not your friends! We are Midoriya Izuku's friends, you fake!"

Silence overtook the room, tension so thick one could cut through it. "How many times must I say it?" Deku began, shaking his head in confusion and anger. "I am Midoriya Izuku. I've been a student here for three weeks-I mean, two days!" he quickly corrected himself. Izuku scanned the room, trying to find a particular student. "Uraraka! Come on, we hung out literally yesterday!" he reminded her.

"This is just so unmanly, dude," Kirishima stated, a frown on his face.

"We're getting nowhere," Shota announced to everyone in the room. "I have an idea, but first," he knocked out Midoriya with a strong roundhouse kick, "we need to get to the roof." 

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see your What-If idea written down, put a comment down below.


End file.
